The Lidder Valley or Liddar ValleyKaul, Manmohan N., ''Glacial and Fluvial Geomorphology of Western Himalaya,'' South Asia Books, 1990, p. 23, is a

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

n sub-valley that forms the southeastern corner of

Anantnag district Anantnag district is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a m ...

in Indian-administered Kashmir. The Lidder River flows down the valley. The entrance to the valley lies 7 km northeast from Anantnag town and 62 km southeast from

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a 40-km-long gorge valley with an average width of 3 km.

Geography

The Lidder Valley is situated within the jurisdiction of Pahalgam tehsil, of

. It is bordered by

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

to the west, and Sind Valley to the north, and covers a length of 40 km. It has a maximum width of 5 km. The Lidder basin is surrounded on the south and southeast by the

Pir Panjal Range The Pir Panjal Range ( ; ) is a range of mountains in the Lower Himalayan region located in the Western Himalayas of northern Indian subcontinent. It runs southeast to northwest between the Beas and Neelam/Kishanganga rivers, in the Indi ...

, on the north by the Sind Valley and on the northeast by the Zaskar Range. The Lidder

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

has an area of 1134 km².Kanth, T.A., Aijaz Ahmad Shah and Zahoor ul Hassan; ''Geomorphologic Character & Receding Trend of Kolahoi Glacier in Kashmir Himalaya,'' Recent Research in Science and Technology 2011, 3(9): 68-73
, It is formed by the flow of the Lidder River which flows within a Y-shaped valley, upstream of Pahagam the river diverges into the East Lidder and the West Lidder. The East Lidder of which reaches eastwards from Pahalgam up past Chandanwari and flows from east to west starting in the area of Sheshnag Lake and the Shisram Glacier. The West Lidder originates from the Kolhoi Glacier and runs through green coniferous forests through many alpine meadows. The Lidder Valley provides fresh water supply to other districts and irrigation for agriculture. The Lidder River flows through the entire valley passing several natural landmarks and tourist spots, including Aru, Pahalgam, Betab Valley, and Akad. The main towns in the Lidder Valley are Mandlan, Laripora, Phraslun, Ashmuqam and Seer Hamdan.

Geology

The Lidder Valley formed over millions of years as the Lidder River cut into the Himalayan Mountains. Today, the river continues to deposit sheets of sand in the lower areas of Anantnag. Gradual erosive processes have washed away bordering forests and created deep gorges at many places. AruDuotone

Ecology

The Lidder Valley has many glacier-fed streams, and the tributaries of the Lidder River are home to different types of

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

. The valley is the natural habitat of the Himalayan black bear. The Himalayan brown bear,

musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all eight, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family (biology), family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, b ...

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

and

hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

have also been spotted in the Aru and Lidderwat areas, which are close to Dachigam National Park.

References

{{Kashmir Valley Valleys of Jammu and Kashmir River valleys of India Anantnag district